The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
